CCE – Center for Civic Engagement

Seeking Stories: LGBTQ+ Abortion Experiences

Posted on February 6, 2024February 6, 2024 by Riley Gabriel

Seeking queer stories about abortion and reproductive healthcare experiences! Anyone can submit an anonymous story to be performed at the 2024 Abortion Monologues. We are striving to center LGBTQ+ voices to spread awareness of disparity of care and encourage action during this year’s elections.

Stories can be of any length and can be submitted via Planned Parenthood’s collection form.

Over a decade ago, we at the Kalamazoo College Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement partnered with Planned Parenthood of Michigan to interview people who had used PP’s services for various reasons (mostly abortions but also vasectomies, std treatment, etc.). Similar to the more familiar Vagina Monologues, students in a Center for Civic Engagement course transcribed these interviews to create an annual dramatic reading of these monologues. But we only had voices representing cis gender men and women. This year, we hope to center LGBTQ and particularly trans stories in response to the political landscape around reproductive and gender affirming healthcare.

K Students are back in classrooms with KPS Newcomers

Posted on October 19, 2023October 19, 2023 by Riley Gabriel

Kalamazoo College students volunteer at Kalamazoo Public Schools and community sites supporting Newcomer families and kids through community based coursework and CCE student-led civic engagement programs. This Fall, Candace Combs’ course, One in a Billion, has twenty seven students participating in ongoing partnership in classrooms at Lincoln Elementary, Milwood Middle School, Phoenix High School, and Oakwood Community Center. Newcomer families in Kalamazoo come from all over the world and the relationships and supports forged with this partnership help to create a more accessible and inclusive community for all people living here.

Please take a look at this month’s issue of the student-created newsletter for an update on how the year is getting started!

Lifeguards & Swim Coaches Needed for Swim for Success (CCE)

Posted on April 3, 2023April 3, 2023 by Riley Gabriel

We are hiring for swim coaches and lifeguards for Swim for Success!

Swim for Success is a program that provides homework help and low-cost swim lessons to students in Kalamazoo Public Schools, intentionally recruiting KPS students whose families may have traditionally lacked access to swimming instruction.

For both coaches and lifeguards experience with kids is appreciated but not required. Coaches are required to have basic swimming knowledge, and training on coaching swim lessons is provided. Lifeguards are required to have a current lifeguard certification. All participants are required to attend orientation and three reflections per quarter and commit to coaching/life-guarding for the term.

Tutoring sessions are held Monday and Wednesday evenings from 5:30 to 6:30, and swim lessons follow immediately after from 6:30 to 7:30. Both positions are paid $10 per lesson and does not require or affect work study.

Interested students should fill out this form. Email any questions to lillian.kehoe21@kzoo.edu

On behalf of Swim For Success Civic Engagement Scholars: Rylie Kipfmueller, Lauren Bretzius, and Lillian Kehoe
Riley Gabriel, Program Associate Center for Civic Engagement
Riley.Gabriel@kzoo.edu or lillian.kehoe21@kzoo.edu

Education-themed Community Building Internship Highlight

Posted on March 30, 2023March 30, 2023 by Riley Gabriel

Check out the CCE’s education and learning equity Community Building Internships in Kalamazoo this summer! Applications are open until April 9th, search “CBI” on Handshake for position descriptions and to apply. Contact: Felicia.Ford@kzoo.edu

Vote with your voice!

Posted on October 6, 2022October 6, 2022 by Riley Gabriel

Your voice and your needs deserve to be heard. It’s your right to vote and participate in decisions on judges, governors, commissioners, congress representatives, and more. If you’re feeling excited about an upcoming ballot proposal or a running candidate or if you’re feeling frustrated by the current state of things and want to see change, voice that through voting. The CCE K Votes program is prepared to support you in your voting journey from deciding where to register to requesting absentee ballots and following up with representatives after elections to hold them accountable for their obligations to our communities.

Drop by the Hicks Game Room today from 2:30-4pm to ask your questions about voting next month. We can help you register in any state, request absentee ballots, change your voting address, check your polling location, find a sample ballot for your district, and more. Students, faculty, and staff are welcomed to participate.

For more information on K Votes or to volunteer on upcoming registration drives and election events, contact Thomas.Lichtenberg19@kzoo.edu

Students Learn by Doing-Center for Civic Engagement

Posted on October 5, 2022October 5, 2022 by Riley Gabriel

The CCE is excited to share this article from the College Lux Esto magazine from last month. You can read about the over 25 years of community collaboration and neighborhood engagement through Building Blocks; originally founded by Professor Emeritus Kim Cummings as a student-neighborhood endeavor in 1995, Building Blocks has since developed into an independent organization that empowers residents, one block at a time, to enhance the quality of their neighborhood life. Kalamazoo College students have continued to engage with neighborhood communities across the city through courses and summer Community Building Internships.

CCE Statement on Overturning of Roe v. Wade

Posted on June 30, 2022June 30, 2022 by Riley Gabriel

Human rights are at the core of the social justice work that the Center for Civic Engagement does with Kalamazoo College students and the Kalamazoo community. We strive to support the full humanity of individuals and communities we work with by affirming their multiplicity of identities. Last week’s US Supreme Court ruling to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision to legalize abortions dangerously diminishes the civil and human rights of all people who can become pregnant.

SisterSong defines Reproductive Justice as, “the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities.” The CCE believes that bodily autonomy and the choice to have or not have children are human rights that all people have and deserve protections for. All human rights are interconnected and therefore one cannot be taken away without endangering the status of other rights such as right to healthcare, privacy, education, and more. The recent SCOTUS decision will disproportionately impact people of color, LGBTQIA+ folks, those in rural areas, and low-income communities. The CCE will do all that we can within the law to support our communities as we navigate this recent blow to civil and human rights.

We have a history of advocating for reproductive justice and will prioritize this focus this year. Students can take action through the Students for Reproductive Freedom (SRF) and the K Votes programs. SRF and K Votes are campus-community collaboratives offering educational programming on campus and community engagement opportunities in Kalamazoo. All members of the campus community are welcome to participate with either or both programs by contacting the current program Civic Engagement Scholars. If you are a student looking for other ways to get involved, please contact Riley Gabriel. We are a resource for you, so please don’t hesitate to contact our staff.

To learn more:

Opportunities for Action:

Start small:

Become a participant in the K Votes or Students for Reproductive Freedom programs
Educate yourself on the health outcomes of banning abortion and consider the implications to communities other than your own
If it is safe and possible for you, bring this topic into conversation at home, with friends, or at work
Join a discussion forum online or attend local forums or townhall meetings

Wider impact:

If you are able, make a donation to support reproductive justice advocacy or directly support abortion access

Attend a protest or rally
Contact your local or state elected representatives
Keep an eye out for more communication from our Center regarding engagement opportunities

For students seeking resources:

For medical assistance:

For mental health assistance:

Student Counseling Center
The college chaplain, Liz Candido
Gryphon Place Help Line: Dial 2-1-1 or 269.381.HELP (4357)
MindSpa: A virtual space for relaxation, providing tools and resources for self-care.
How the Health Are You?: Tools, resources and information on mental health for BIPOC.
6 Anxiety Exercises to Aid Relaxation

For Legal Inquiries:

Repro Legal Helpline at 844-868-2812
Electronic Frontier Foundation

For Staff and Faculty seeking resources:

For medical assistance:

For mental health assistance:

The college chaplain, Liz Candido
Gryphon Place Help Line: Dial 2-1-1 or 269.381.HELP (4357)
How the Health Are You?: Tools, resources and information on mental health for BIPOC.
MindSpa: A virtual space for relaxation, providing tools and resources for self-care.
6 Anxiety Exercises to Aid Relaxation
Grounding Techniques: Exercises for Anxiety, PTSD, & More

For Legal Inquiries:

Repro Legal Helpline at 844-868-2812
Electronic Frontier Foundation

CCE Still Hiring Civic Engagement Scholars for 2022-2023!

Posted on May 12, 2022May 12, 2022 by Riley Gabriel

We are still hiring for Civic Engagement Scholars (CES) for the Swim for Success and K Votes programs for 2022-2023! If you are a student passionate about community-based change and civic engagement, we want to hear from you. CESs are student leaders for their peers and with a community partner in Kalamazoo. In Swim for Success, K Students provide swimming lessons and homework tutoring to KPS students and K Votes focuses on spreading election information, registering people to vote, and encouraging political engagement in a variety of ways. If either of these programs sound interesting to you, check out the application on our website and Handshake!https://cce.kzoo.edu/opportunities/slp/

Community Building Internships (CBIs) Closing Soon!

Posted on March 16, 2022March 16, 2022 by Moises Hernandez

Community Building Internships (CBIs) close this Friday, March 18th! Apply now on Handshake to submit your application! You can visit our website to learn more about the CBI program. Interns get a $4,000 stipend! https://cce.kzoo.edu/opportunities/community-building-internships/